Review: Is the Milk Genie Breastpump magic?

Breastpumps can be a bit of a minefield! It’s not exactly a case of being able to try them all before you buy! Who has the time and money to be able to do that?? Especially with a newborn around. When the time comes for the breastpump to have a place in your life, you just want one that’ll do the job. I was provided with a complimentary breastpump in order to review it but was not paid to write this. For full disclosure, I am a Pumpables affiliate which means if you use my link to buy a pump, I will receive a small amount of commission. I will however, remain honest and unbiased in my review.

There are many reasons you might be wishing to pump. These can include but are not limited to:

If you see any of the above which apply to you, please click through to get further advice!

You may be aware of such pumps as Tommee Tippee and Medela as they are the most heavily marketed, unfortunately not ethically. These companies are not compliant with the WHO milk code and therefore undermine breastfeeding. Truth be told, their home pumps aren’t all that anyway. The most well received breast pumps seem to be from Spectra but are hospital grade. The dual pump S1 currently retails on Amazon at £149.95 and the single pump S2 at £129.95 . For comparison, Tommee Tippee retails at about £89.99 and Medela Swing at £99.99. These are both single pumps. The pump I am reviewing retails at £108 with free shipping.

My previous pumping experience was with a Medela Swing and Mini so they are what I will be comparing this pump against. My son has just turned 3 so my pumping supply isn’t quite what it used to be in the first few months of his life. I was one of those people who could get nearly 10oz in one go. Now I’m lucky to get a dribble as my supply dwindles and my son loses interest. But that doesn’t mean I can’t review a pump. As if it can get *anything* I know it must be good!

So lets get down to it!

The dual headed Milk Genie pump was developed by a team of pumping mums who go by the company name ‘Pumpables’ in 2016. Between them, they’ve faced just about every breastfeeding challenge there is, from attachment issues, low supply, pumping at work, and pumping for premature babies. Who better to develop a pump?! They understand pumping parents aren’t a once size fits all and what’s important to breastfeeding mothers, including being WHO milk code compliant. They ship from the UK, Australia and Malaysia (free shipping to these countries!).

Portability:

One of this pump’s biggest selling points is the battery life. It comes with an inbuilt rechargeable battery that holds charge for 3 hours of continuous use. Now I have to say, that’s pretty impressive. Often with portable pumps, suction can be lost on battery power compared with being on mains but in this case, suction was consistent! Hurrah! Unfortunately something I found a bit annoying was the tubing detaching from the motor unit easily whilst I moved – so probably not a good idea to go jogging whilst pumping with this. There is also no clip on the motor unit so no handsfree option unless you have massive pockets.

Closed system:

The Milk Genie is a closed system pump, unlike the Medela Swing/Mini. This means that bacteria can’t get into areas which cannot be sterilised which means no mould will get into the system. It also means that you can sell on the pump afterwards knowing you won’t be inadvertently spreading bacteria to the next user.

Noise levels:

So of the pumps I’ve tried, the Medela mini was the loudest by far. The Swing comes second and the Milk Genie is the quietest of the three. It’s quite a consistent noise level I find too which is good if you have a sleeping baby nearby.

Adaptable:

It has three sizes of breast shields – 21mm, 24mm, and 27mm – which you don’t get with many (if any?!) pumps so you can try them all to get the right fit and therefore, best yield of breastmilk! Like with other pumps, the motor comes with varying strengths of suction so you can find the one that works best for you. It’s always max strength for me – mainly because I’m impatient!

Night vision:

The motor has a backlit screen so you can pump away at night without having to shine your phone torch or whack a light on. Handy!

Clever stuff:

The motor has two modes, massage and expression. The massage mode simulates milk flow and expression mode draws out the milk. You can switch between these two modes by pressing the ‘mode’ button. The motor unit counts time spent expressing and if you have found those perfect settings, you can store them to memory! The screen also tells you how much battery life is remaining (something the Swing couldn’t do!).

I was impressed that I actually managed to express something with the Milk Genie pump this far in my journey, even though it wasn’t much (about 1oz). In my super pumping days, I don’t think it would have any trouble getting a good bottle’s worth.

Overall, given the option, I would pick the Milk Genie compared to the others I have tried. The most important things for me is that the breast pump is closed system and WHO compliant. Aside from that the battery life wins it for me, as well as being very affordable for a dual headed pump.